Dry Cottage Cheese Is A Thing. Here's How To Use It

The creamy texture and slightly tangy flavor of cottage cheese tastes great in fruit salads, atop pancakes, or even when incorporated into recipes like, say, high-protein egg salad. A lesser-known but equally versatile version of cottage cheese is farmer's cheese, also known as dry curd cottage cheese. As the name suggests, this is a version of cottage cheese that has been pressed dry. The lower moisture results in a crumbly fresh cheese that retains some of the tangy flavor but none of the moist, slippery texture. Those who prefer large-curd cottage cheese to small-curd because of the additional moisture it holds may not enjoy the texture of dry cottage cheese. However, others can enjoy its bright, tart flavor just like they would regular cottage cheese. Additionally, incorporating this cheese into your favorite recipes is where those dry curds really shine.

Because it lacks the high moisture content of regular cottage cheese, farmer's cheese won't make dishes soggy or dilute them. This makes it great as a filling for pies, stuffed pasta like ravioli, and lasagna. It can also be a viable substitute for ricotta, albeit with some caveats. Just like ricotta and regular cottage cheese are not entirely interchangeable, dry cottage cheese as a ricotta substitute works better in savory dishes rather than sweet ones like cannolis. Dishes that require high heat also benefit from dry cottage cheese since the regular variety contains a large amount of liquid milk, which can curdle when subject to high heat and acidic ingredients.

There are two main types of farmer's cheese — American and European. The former is cottage cheese drained of its moisture by pressing it into a block, resulting in the characteristic crumbly texture. The European kind has a more spreadable texture since the liquid is merely strained from the coagulated milk and not pressed out, which helps it retain creaminess. Making either at home is easy. Hot milk must first be coagulated using vinegar, lemon juice, or yogurt. Next, you can use a fine cheesecloth to drain out the liquid whey and be left with the curds. You can decide how crumbly or spreadable you want to keep it and press out the moisture accordingly.

Since it can be difficult to find at stores, the easiest way to have dry cottage cheese on hand is to simply keep some regular cottage cheese. Start with good quality curds; we've ranked the best cottage cheese brands. Next, rinse the cottage cheese with running water until the curds can be seen separately, and then give it a gentle squeeze to dry it. In a pinch, you can even use ricotta, a crumbled version of soft cotton tofu, or a similar Indian cheese called paneer.

Raw or cooked, its light flavor means you can experiment with farmer's cheese without degrading the dish's flavor profile. Stir it into your next pasta or soup and enjoy the texture the small creamy curds add. It also makes a great snack simply drizzled with some honey or, for a savory bite, with some salt, pepper, and herbs.